The Piedmont Triad: Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Project

As stated in our last blog, the Piedmont Triad is in the midst of a regional planning project with a goal to build economic competitiveness by connecting housing with good jobs, quality schools, and transportation.

There are three key elements of sustainability that the project will focus on: environment, community, and economy. As defined by the project, sustainability is the act of balancing the environment, community, and economic needs of the region for present and future generations.

Below, some of the goals of the project are listed:

Environment Goals

• Define the limits of communities with a true sense of urban and rural settngs
• Take advantage of abandoned mills and brownfields
• Provide the green infrastructure that binds cities and towns
• Manage greenhouse gas emissions and reduce energy consumption

Community Goals

• Promote compact, walkable development
• Foster social equity in housing, employment, and transportation choices
• Meet the needs of anticipated demographic changes
• Support energy efficiency
• Reduce the need for automobiles and short trips

Economic Goals

• Expand the employment opportunities to meet 21^st century needs
• Lower the cost of housing and transportation for low income residents by locating employment center proximate to transit lines
• Continue to pursue economic development clusters that yield more jobs with higher wages

For more information, click here.

This is an exciting project for our region, and it can use your input. To share your thoughts and ideas, be sure to visit The Piedmont Voice!

What Is A Sustainable Community?

You have probably heard the phrase “sustainable communities.” It has become somewhat of a buzz word, but you may be wondering what it really means.

According to the Piedmont Triad Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Project, a sustainable community is an “urban, suburban, or rural community with housing and transportation choices near jobs, shops, and schools, through a means that results in livable communities, builds our local economy, and spends the money we have more effectively.”

A sustainable region is a collection of cities, towns, and counties that are joined together by a common geography, economics or other tangible characteristics. Sustainability requires balancing the environment, community, and economic needs of the built and natural environment for present and future generations.

The Piedmont Triad Sustainable Communities Planning Project defines a sustainable region by these characteristics:

• It has jobs that are tolerant of weak economies.
• It has strong, walkable communities emphasizing housing choices
• It capitalizes on individual strengths
• It protects our air and water
• It provides mobility choices
• It uses less energy
• It agrees to act locally but think regionally

 The Piedmont Triad was recently awarded $1.6 million from HUD to create a regional plan that is intended to build economic competitiveness by connecting housing with good jobs, quality schools, and transportation.

Check back tomorrow to learn more about the goals of this project and how the Piedmont Triad is working towards becoming a sustainable region!

Homeownership Offers Social and Economic Benefits

A study conducted by the UNC Center for Community Capital finds what New Century IDA has been promoting all along. Homeownership brings a wide range of social and economic benefits to low income communities.

Even though homeownership has long been thought of as a way to revitalize neighborhoods and build household wealth, the foreclosure crisis has caused some to question this in recent years. But this new study confirms that homeownership offers many benefits to a community.

For example, there is a clear link between homeownership and how low income homeowners perceive the level of crime in their community. Homeownership leads residents to take steps to protect and secure their neighborhoods which reduces crime levels. 

Mark R. Lindblad, the center research director, stated that “The housing downturn and foreclosure crisis have raised questions about the role of homeownership in stabilizing low- income communities. Our findings demonstrate that, when coupled with traditional, fixed- rate mortgages, homeownership reduces residents’ perception of crime as a key problem for their neighborhood.” Perceptions of crime are important because they affect residents’ mental and physical health.

Homeownership has faced critiques amidst the mortgage crisis, and some critics have said federal housing policy has unwisely promoted homeownership for lower- income households. However, there are several problems with this critique. One problem is that it neglects more compelling causes of the housing downturn and foreclosure crisis, particularly the lack of financial regulation of mortgage products. The root cause of the foreclosure crisis was not homeownership, but unfavorable subprime mortgages.

The second problem is the tendency to conflate lower- income homeownership with sub- prime mortgages. While lower- income and minority families did receive disproportionally higher rates of subprime mortgages, the unfavorable mortgage terms were largely to blame for the higher rates of mortgage delinquency among subprime borrowers. Research has found that low- income households with traditional, 30 year, fixed rate mortgages do sustain homeownership.

Since its beginning in 1999, New Century IDA has promoted homeownership as a means to build wealth and break the cycle of poverty. This study conducted by UNC affirms that homeownership does produce socially desirable outcomes for lower- income households. The study concludes that it is in everyone's best interest to develop policies and practices that promote homeownership.

For further reading, results of the study can be found in the article "Sense of Community and Informal Social Control Among Lower- Income Households: The Role of Homeownership and Collective Efficacy in Reducing Subjective Neighborhood Crime and Disorder" published in the American Journal of Community Psychology.

North Carolina Community Development Association Spring Conference

The North Carolina Community Development Association (NCCDA) will hold its Spring Conference May 16-18, 2012. For anyone involved in community development work, this conference will be a great event with many learning and networking opportunities.

The NCCDA was formed in 1979 to provide a unified voice for community development officials across North Carolina. As stated on their website, the purpose of the NCCDA is to:

• Provide recommendations to federal and state agencies regarding policy and/ or program guidelines
• Provide a forum for the exchange of information and experience among agencies concerned in all areas of community development
• Cooperate and coordinate with other professional associations involved with community development
• Examine, evaluate, and recommend alternatives to existing and proposed legislation which directly or indirectly affect local community development activities

The conference is a great opportunity for New Century IDA to network with other groups who are passionate about community development, and we hope you will consider attending as well.

A few of the sessions that are scheduled for the Spring Conference are “The Role of Incubators in Fostering Economic Development,” “Collaborating with Habitat for Humanity,” and an open forum on “Community and Economic Development: Are They Really Separate Functions?” Click here for the full agenda.

To add to the excitement, the conference will be held at the Grove Park Inn in Asheville, NC! During the conference, there will even be an opportunity to take a bus tour of Asheville learn more about projects in the area.

Grove Park Inn, Asheville, NC

To register for the conference, visit http://nccda.net/events.php or contact Debora Steenson, Association Manager, at manager@nccda.net or 919-418-1325. We look forward to seeing you there!

The Growing Problem of Concentrated Poverty of NC

A growing number of North Carolinians are living in concentrated poverty neighborhoods. If your neighborhood in particular hasn’t been affected, you may wonder why this is important. The North Carolina Justice Center released a report this month, “Barriers to Opportunity: The Growing Problem of Concentrated Poverty in North Carolina’s Neighborhoods” to detail this issue and explain why it matters.

Using data from the United States Census Bureau, the NC Justice Center found that as of 2006 to 2010, there were 100 areas of concentrated poverty in North Carolina- nearly triple the number from 2000. Data also shows that 143,445 poor residents live in these extremely poor areas, which is 3.5 times the number in 2000.

Areas of concentrated poverty are defined as census tracts with poverty rates of 40% or more, using the federal poverty level.

Patterns of concentrated poverty have persisted for decades because of factors such as rapid suburbanization, deindustrialization, commercial disinvestment, and racial discrimination in housing markets. Government policies, such as home ownership subsidies, public housing location decisions, interstate and highway subsidies, and deterioration in local services, have also contributed to concentrated poverty.

Being poor and residing in a poor neighborhood is known as a “double burden” because it magnifies and perpetuates the problems that poor people face. Research shows that residential segregation of people who are poor leads to negative neighborhood effects, which are community influences on individual socioeconomic outcomes. Neighborhood effects include low- quality educational opportunities, weaker employment networks, and higher rates of crime.

Data also shows that in 2006- 2010, 10.4 percent of the state’s impoverished children lived in concentrated poverty neighborhoods. This is particularly alarming for a number of reasons. Research shows that regardless of family income, children raised in these neighborhoods have less access to good quality schools, early education programs, and social networks that foster healthy development. They are also at higher risk of poor outcomes, including higher stress levels, higher dropout rates, and more emotional problems.

Opportunity structure is deeply connected to the neighborhood. As a result, concentrated poverty neighborhoods have great implications for the families that live there and particularly for the children that grow up there.

For this very reason, New Century IDA is proud that its graduates can purchase a home any where in Forsyth County. By not limiting its clients to certain neighborhoods, the IDA program gives people more options and does not contribute to creating poverty concentrated neighborhoods. However, there is still much work to be done and this is an issue that we should all be aware of.

IDA Success Stories: M.M.

Had I been asked to write this success story two months, I would still have a lot to say, and a whole lot more time to say it. I didn’t have house then, but thanks to the IDA program I had already accomplished two things I thought I’d never.

The first was not spending money on things I didn’t need. For years the use of credit cards were my biggest temptation and downfall. The IDA program helped me distinguish between things I needed and things I wanted. Learning about interest rates on credit cards made me realize that the now broken VCR I charged 11 years ago actually cost me $600 dollars. The closet full of clothes I charged (now all too small) cost me four times the good bargain I thought I had found, and with all the money I charged for meals at fancy restaurants (that led to the clothes being too small), I could have almost bought my own restaurant! I was happy to cut the cards up.

Getting rid of them helped lead me to the second accomplishment – saving money. One of the main principles of the IDA program is saving money. And I was able to do it! Believe me, pre-IDA, no bank account of mine had ever seen a four digit balance for more that a couple of days!

That leads me to why I’m short on time today. When my savings account hit $1,000, Sue Simmons told me to start looking for a house. So I looked. And I looked. I looked at houses too small and at houses too big, houses with no closet space, houses with no counter spaces; ugly wallpapered walls, hideous carpeted floors. Until one day, my real estate agent drove me into a perfect driveway that led to a perfect house! I asked her to write the contract to make a bid on it right away.

In a blur, my loan was secured, the house was inspected, and the lawyer was contacted. And at closing, there sat Sue Simmons, along with Mr. Stewart from ESR, providing support and encouragement to the very end, not to mention the checks they passed to the lawyer on my behalf! It was all so simple, and I am so very thankful.

Today, I’m in my home with a garage full of junk waiting to be put away. And every night, I get down on my knees to thank God for that garage and the house to which it is attached, for my family and for the IDA program.

Stabilizing Communities

Not everyone knows what an IDA program is, or how it can help their community. IDA stands for Individual Development Account, and they are matched savings accounts that are matched either 2:1 or 6:1. That means, for every $1 the client saves, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 dollars is put into the account. The end result is a downpayment for the clients dream home.

When you hear, "We help working members of our community become first time homeowners", or "matched savings account", what is the first thing that pops in your head?

A few that are at the top of the list are:
1) "What about subprime loans?";
2) "The housing market crashed, how in the world can this help?";
3) "How do IDAs work; is it just money and houses given away?"

Well, here are the answers to all those burning questions:

1) Not a SINGLE person in the history of the New Century IDA has received a subprime loan. Clients sit with the wonderful loan counselor, Bianca Green, and discuss their options. She works with and for the clients, and always has their best interest in mind. Everyone behind the scenes have the clients interest in mind.

2) Yes, the housing market crashed, but right now is the BEST time to buy a house! Builders have built homes, but they aren't selling; there are foreclosed homes that are not bought; and prices are low. If people buy homes now they are buying them at their lowest prices, and when the market is better they have the option to sell at a higher cost.

And how can this help? How does this NOT help? Families are learning the importance of savings through the financial literacy classes. I was taught my entire life, through school, how important it is to save, but that wasn't enough- I also needed to know how to save.

Financial literacy classes teach clients how to save, cut costs, and reach their dreams. When a parent is taught how to save they pass this knowledge on to their child. Their children then use this knowledge at a young age, and they live their lives saving and spending in a responsible, financially educated manner. Even those without children pass this knowledge to family and friends. As a current client said, "The IDA program is people helping people help people".

Communities benefit from the additional taxes homeowners pay that goes to the fire department, school district, police officers, and other publicly funded institutions. Buying a home is also a process. Builders are receiving pay for building homes, lenders are used for acquiring mortgages, and then there is homeowners insurance (insurance agents receive money), and the ability for the client to spend money on their house because of their newly acquired savings knowledge, and ability to responsibly spend.

Since the inception of the New Century IDA in 1999, less than 10 people have defaulted on their mortgages, and over 440 people have successfully bought houses. The default rate is far below the national average, and those who continue to own homes also continue to reinvest in their communities through savings, responsible spending, and paying their taxes.

3) IDA's are not just money and houses given away. Clients spend months going to financial literacy classes; they are required to save $1500 of their own dollars; and they meet with their success coaches on a required, regular basis.

New Century IDA clients are single parents and couples; they are young, old, and may be hesitant to buy a home because of previous credit issues, and what they read on the news about the job and housing markets.

I recently interviewed a client turned success coach. She shared her experience as a single mother who was not only attending financial literacy classes and meeting with her success coach, but she was also attending night classes at a local University- on top of working full time. This is a normal story for New Century clients. New Century IDA clients are workers, parents, couples or single, their commonality is that they are looking to grab their piece of the American Dream, and they are working very hard to do so!

When you support the New Century IDA (and IDA programs in general), you are supporting responsible economics, breaking the cycle of poverty, and empowerment of the individual and community. Everyone walks away a winner.

Click here for more information on the New Century IDA, or peruse through this blog. You can also ‘like’ us on facebook.

Click here for more information on North Carolina IDA and asset building initiatives

Also check out Asset for Independence, and the Center for Economic Development for more information on the assets movement, and how to become a part of this innovative and life changing movement.

Andriana Bicanin

AmeriCorps*VISTA

the New Century IDA, Housing Department

the IDA & Asset Building Collaborative of N.C.